Sunderland close in on experienced midfielder

It seems to us at the Football Transfer Tavern that Sunderland are taking this January transfer window very seriously after Goal.com report that a move for Paul Scharner is inevitable.

The 32-year-old is of course familiar to English audiences after previously appearing in the Premier League and Martin O’Neill obviously thinks the player still has a lot left to give. Scharner has admitted his dissatisfaction with life in Hamburg and has been angling for a move back to England.

The player has suffered from not only a loss of form but injuries and suspensions too meaning that he has simply not been in Hamburg’s plans. He is now set for a loan spell until the end of the season at the Stadium of Light with the option for a permanent deal after that.

Scharner made over 200 appearances for Wigan Atheetic and West Bromwich Albion netting 20 times and his agent Valentine Hobel claimed: “Paul wants to show next season what he can do for HSV but for that he needs match practise and that would probably be at Sunderland.”

O’Neill is desperate to bolster his squad and begin to move up the table after a disappointing first half of the season and knows that Scharner not only knows the Premier League but is a fighter and can net a couple of goals from set pieces also.